Snow? Not Much Expected. Bloomberg? In Bermuda

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been spotted in Bermuda – again – as a Christmas-week storm heads to the Northeast.

In December 2010, Bloomberg stirred controversy when he was in Bermuda at the start of a post-Christmas blizzard that paralyzed the city for days. That year, when more than 20 inches of snow blanketed the city, the mayor ultimately admitted his administration’s sluggish response to the storm was unacceptable following a chorus of criticism.

On Wednesday afternoon, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo – who, by the way, is in Albany, according to his schedule — announced he is activating the state Emergency Operations Center as a massive winter storm heads north after killing at least seven people in southern states. The National Weather Service is warning of dangerous travel conditions and has forecast up to 18 inches of snow from New York state up to Maine.

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A cyclist pushes his bike through a winter snowstorm in New York City on December 26.

In New York City, a wet snow had already begun to fall Wednesday afternoon, but officials at the National Weather Service predict perhaps just an inch of accumulation because the snow is expected to turn to rain. Still, there’s a high-wind warning in effect, with strong wind gusts as high as 50 to 60 mph expected. And Peter Wichrowski, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said there could be “widespread moderate coastal flooding” in the city.

The city’s Sanitation Department issued a “snow alert” for 2 p.m. Wednesday. City officials expect mostly a “wintry mix” and high winds, a department spokesman said. There are 365 salt spreaders loaded and ready.

So, where is Mayor Bloomberg? A person who saw the mayor in Bermuda Tuesday said he was at the majestic Mid Ocean Club, a favorite golfing spot in Bermuda, where he owns a vacation home. Another person in Bermuda said Bloomberg’s private jet was on the island on Wednesday.

Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for the mayor, declined to comment on the mayor’s whereabouts. Bloomberg has had no public events on his schedule since attending midnight mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan on Tuesday.

In 2010, flight records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal showed that a Dassault Falcon 900 jet operated by Bloomberg Services left La Guardia Airport for Bermuda at 9:02 am on Christmas Day, then returned the next day at 2:49 pm, as that storm grew fierce. The Bloomberg jet was the last private plane to land at La Guardia that day, according to the FAA records. The mayor appeared at a storm-related press conference shortly afterward.

Since becoming mayor 11 years ago this January, Bloomberg has steadfastly refused to reveal when he leaves the five boroughs for non-city business, arguing he deserves a private life without reporters and photographers following him. The mayor hasn’t taken a full week vacation since he took office. In addition to Bermuda, he owns vacation homes in a slew of other locations, notably London and Vail, Colo.

When asked last year at a City Hall news conference about his whereabouts leading up to the 2010 blizzard, Bloomberg neither confirmed nor denied that he was in Bermuda. “I don’t know how, where you get that information,” he told a reporter.

“I can tell you this—I was totally in communications and in charge and accountable all the time, and that’s the way I’ve been for nine years.”

According to City Hall, when the mayor leaves town, he gives signatory authority to a deputy mayor. But City Hall officials refuse to say when the mayor leaves town or identify his designee for specific dates.

When The Wall Street Journal pointed out last year that the president lets the nation know where he is at all times, including vacations, the mayor responded by saying he believes there is a difference between running the city and the country. (President Barack Obama spent the Christmas holiday in Hawaii with his family, although he was scheduled to fly back to Washington early for fiscal cliff negotations.)

“The problem is the mayor would have no private life, couldn’t be with his kids when you have the press following you around all the time. President’s job is different,” Bloomberg said, adding that he believes the president is entitled to private time, too.